I Moved to a “Luxury” Building in Mott Haven: My Honest Experience
I live in one of the new buildings in the Port Morris/Mott Haven section of the South Bronx.
Yes, near the ones that you can see from your Metro-North train or from across the Harlem River.
In this blog post, I want to keep it real. I want to share what my partner and I like about living here, what we don’t, and how we see ourselves as part of this big change in a historically (and still) impoverished neighborhood.
“The South Bronx” still has as much stigma and a reputation for being a “bad neighborhood” as anywhere in New York City. In the 1970s, it was the poster child for nearly every problem that plagued cities, from burning buildings to drug epidemics.
Both the stigma and the legacy of that era, of course, persist.
I hope I can provide an honest account of what to expect.
I also hope that, if you move here, you consider how your presence impacts the neighborhood. I continue to do introspection on that.
I have now lived here with my partner for over a year. This summer we resigned our lease. We’re happy. We like it. We like our neighbors and have made friends. We like the restaurants. We are near the subway. We have amenities and like them. The highways and traffic suck. Our building flooded once.
Who We Are and Why This Matters
For some context, I am a U.S.-born, Spanish-speaking Hispanic. I wouldn’t say I “fit in” with the neighborhood, but I try my best to. I’ve learned lots of Puerto Rican slang.
My girlfriend is also a U.S.-born, Spanish-speaking Hispanic. She grew up in a POC household in Westchester County. She fits in more.
Before moving here, I lived in other places in New York City, including the Lower East Side for two years, at a time when it also had a stigma.
So we’re both very familiar with New York City and its culture.
I give this context because we had a decent idea of what to expect.
Why We Moved Here
How did we end up here?
Logistics and Location
We decided we wanted to move back to New York. My partner got a job on the Upper East Side, along the 6 train.
Your commute has a huge impact on your quality of life. She didn’t want to transfer trains, and I don’t blame her. Brooklyn was out.
I work virtually, so even after two years living as a “digital nomad,” I was ready to move back to the city.
She also has family on the Metro North, and it’s close to Harlem-125th St.
We Wanted Space and Amenities
Even splitting rent, and with good jobs, on the Upper East Side the best we could’ve done for the same price was a crappy one-bed without a dishwasher, laundry, and of course any other niceties.
I lived in a walk-up New York studio before, and I would’ve done it again.
But for the same price, that was the decision: do you want a shitty, tiny apartment in Manhattan or do you want space and amenities in the South Bronx?
We chose the space and amenities.
I Felt Drawn to Its History and Activism
I knew when we toured, when I walked past the community gardens, when I researched a little bit about the activist history of the South Bronx, that I would find both the opportunity to be a part of the neighborhood and an opportunity to explore interests I already had.
What I Like About Living Here
There’s a lot I like.
The Co-Working Space
I love the co-working space in the building. I get a lot of writing done here. Not all the new buildings here have big co-working spots, but most of them do.
Things like a gym downstairs, a dishwasher, and laundry in our apartment are nice to have. When we moved in, we got two and a half months free, which brought the price down to something we could pay, save, and still enjoy life.
You’ll be hard-pressed to find a lower price on an amenities apartment.
Our building is labeled “luxury,” but please manage your expectations on that. “Luxury” means it has a gym downstairs and a grill on the roof. Which is great! But the term has become so overused, I would consider it worthless. For example, when we moved in, we got three months free on the “spa,” which has a hot tub, a dry sauna, and a wet sauna. The dry sauna breaks frequently. When it worked, it rarely got above 120 degrees. Only for a few weeks did it get to proper sauna temperatures.
We don’t pay extra for the rooftop pool either.
It Has a Neighborly Feel and We’ve Entered a Community
When we moved here, I got involved in the closest community garden.
I met people who’ve lived here for decades or who’ve moved in the past few years. I feel a part of the neighborhood. Half the time I leave the apartment, I run into somebody I know. It feels sort of like our little village in that sense.
Whether it’s the guys on the stoops or hanging outside garden gates, neighbors in my building, or environmental activists, I’ve come to know a lot of incredible people.
For my partner, who’s much less of an activist than me, it was harder to build a friend group. But, it did happen. We have many friends in our neighborhood.
Easy Access to Much of Manhattan
The location has its pros and cons. It’s easy to get to Harlem, the Upper East Side, and Midtown East. LaGuardia is only a 15-minute car ride (I usually bike there in 30 minutes by going over the Triboro Bridge through Randall’s Island). JFK is a bit harder and requires either a transfer to the LIRR at Grand Central or the E train at 53rd St, but it’s no worse than most of New York City.
Lots of Good Food Spots
Queens is famous as the borough with the best food. The Bronx flies under the radar. Within a 10-minute walk, we have several incredible, authentic Mexican and Caribbean options. (Shout out to Xime Restaurante and La Morada.) If you go up to Melrose, not a far walk or easy bike ride, you unlock everything from Indian to West African to half a dozen different types of Hispanic food. As a Salvadoran American, I’m so thrilled we have a pupusería in walking distance.
Within the area where most of the new buildings are, there are several great spots like Hudson Smokehouse (best BBQ spot in the city I’ve had) and a vegetarian cafe MaeMae.
The Streets Keep Getting Safer
One of the worst parts for me about moving here, compared to the Lower East Side, is how treacherous it was on my bike.
But every month, I feel like new protected bike lanes get put in around the South Bronx. This has made it much more pleasant for me to get around.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s not like downtown. But, at least there are a few routes I can ride without much concern.
For pedestrians, they’re making big improvements. They added pedestrian islands in front of a charter school nearby. It’s much easier to walk on that street now.
It’s… Pretty Safe
The median income of our zip code is under $30,000 per year. There’s a lot of poverty.
But let’s contextualize it.
Heroin and drugs are a real problem. However, it’s not that in-your-face unless you go up towards 149th St and 3rd Avenue (”The Hub.”) One time, we walked through it at night on the way home from eating Salvadoran food.
Would I have walked through that side of the street again at 9pm? No.
Also, while poverty is a serious problem, homelessness is low in the South Bronx. New York City has a shelter system that is decently effective at providing dignified shelter.
“Act Like You Know”
There’s a mural near us that says, “Act like you know.” I try to do that. Act like you know the etiquette around here. Head up, move at a calm pace, stay alert, mind your business. I give the people I see all the time, even if I don’t know them, a little head nod. I never wear earbuds while I’m walking.
I’ve never had any issue.
I grew up a Yankee fan. Every time I wear Yankees merch, I get extra smiles and instant conversation with strangers during the season. (Being here when they were in the World Series last year was a joy. Even though we got crushed, the energy on the South Bronx streets was palpable.
If you were not raised in an urban, people-of-color household, you will be exposed to a different culture. It’s a culture that’s confrontational, not avoidant. People speak their mind, and that’s a beautiful thing.
Just because you are uncomfortable doesn’t mean you are unsafe.
Caveat: I’m a brown (enough) male.
My girlfriend gets cat-called constantly if she’s walking alone… but she does in many, maybe most parts of New York City
She goes to an awesome gym (Iron Punisher) just a 10-minute walk away. The environment of the gym itself is incredible. But on the walk there, she’s learned to wear baggy clothes to subdue the attention of men.
Machismo is alive and well.
My girlfriend’s friend, who’s a white blonde from New England, came and visited us. She parked her car on the street and had her window rolled down. A guy said, “What’re you doing here white girl?”
I know several women in our neighborhood, born and raised in New York City, that don’t walk around at night. I get that.
I definitely prefer to bike than walk home at night.
Real Downside #1: The Pollution
With all of that said, there are some serious problems with the neighborhood too. The first is the air quality.
Robert Moses left the South Bronx bleeding, and Maria Cuomo, who leased out the public waterfront the Waste Management for 99 years, reopened the wounds.
About 1 in 5 school-aged children in the South Bronx has asthma. The asthma hospitalization rate is three times the national average.
From the Major Deegan to the Willis and Third Avenue bridges to the industry along the waterfront that brings thousands of trucks along local streets, the air quality is terrible. There’s no other way to put it.
If you have sensitive lungs, this is not the place for you.
Along the waterfront near our building is a Waste Transfer station that carries all of the trash from the Bronx in diesel trucks. On hot days, you can smell the garbage. Almost every day, the sanitation trucks roll through.
Real Downside #2: It’s a Flood Zone
The Mott Haven-Port Morris waterfront is also in a flood zone. If my building had been there during Superstorm Sandy, it would’ve been under three feet of water.
That’s water that would’ve mixed with the trash at Waste Management.
We’ve had flooding that closed our 6 train stop and flooded our elevators. We walked eleven floors up the stairs to get home.
I knew this when I moved here. Well, about the flood zone and asthma rates, but not the extent of just how much pollution there is.
When the next Superstorm Sandy comes, a lot of these new buildings will flood. It’s not going to be pretty. Have a “go bag” ready and plan for this.
At the same time, now it’s an opportunity to fight to improve it. Because it’s not right that there’s all this pollution on a waterfront that should be a park which helps protect from flooding. It’s not right that the people of the South Bronx who’ve lived here for years suffer from asthma.
Real Downside #3: I Hope You Don’t Have Friends in Brooklyn…
One thing I miss about living in Manhattan is that I could get to anybody with 45 minutes on transit. Uptown, Brooklyn, Queens… all of it was relatively near me.
Now it’s hard to see my friends in Brooklyn regularly.
The West Side is a Pain As Well
I can bike to the Upper West Side in about 25-30 minutes. But anything lower that’s west is super annoying. We’ve almost missed Amtrak trains at Penn Station because of subway delays.
Those are some of the pros and cons. Hopefully, it can help you make a more informed decision.
Let’s Talk About Gentrification.
One of my biggest hesitations with moving here was a moral one.
“Gentrification” can be a loaded term. Bike lanes, new housing, and coffee shops have all been associated with the term.
So we’re on the same page, it refers to a process that goes something like this:
- A neighborhood has historically been neglected by the city.
- Because of that neglect, rents stay low. Low-income people, usually people of color and immigrants, make a life there and build strong communities.
- At some point, developers realize the area is “undervalued.” They buy land and put up new buildings, often marketed as “luxury.”
- People like me move in. Young professionals who want space and amenities, but can’t afford the Upper East Side or Williamsburg.
- Once that cycle starts, speculation drives up property values, landlords start raising rents on surrounding buildings, and long-time residents get pushed out by the rising rents.
That’s the cycle critics are talking about when they say new buildings “cause” gentrification.
I do not want to dismiss very real concerns about displacement.
Maybe this is just how I’ve morally justified it, and no doubt people can critique me or you for this, and that’s okay.
But new development does not have to mean displacement.
You and I Did Not Institute the Policies That Caused Urban Renewal, Redlining, and White Flight to the Suburbs
All of this happened before most of us were born. You and I are also not the landlords who own old buildings and are choosing to push up the rents, or who are trying to force out long-time residents.
So that’s the first part. It’s important to be aware of our impact, but also to give ourselves grace.
Living in a New Market-Rate Unit Means, By Definition, I’m Not Displacing a Low-Income Resident Directly
There’s also an argument that new housing is the solution to gentrification, not the cause of it.
If you’re living in Bushwick with roommates in a brownstone, then in theory, a long-time local family could live there. But if the city had built more new housing (where there wasn’t housing before), then maybe you and your friends would’ve moved in there, leaving that brownstone vacant for a long-time resident to fill.
If, for example, the West Village, Upper East Side, Upper West Side, Greenwich, CT, and more had built way more units of housing, then rents across New York City would be lower, and maybe we would be living in a different neighborhood for the same price.
Certainly, we would’ve preferred if areas like the Upper East Side built more housing, which would’ve reduced the rents, so we could’ve afforded it. But they didn’t.
I look at the research on this in this article.
I’ve had some awkward interactions with people, where they look at and curse those buildings, and I say, “Well, actually, I live in one of those. I recognize the problems, but I don’t believe it’s as simple as ‘new building = bad.’”
But Yes, I Contribute to The Real Estate Speculation
While that’s true on a region-wide scale, localized real estate speculation is also true. If I say, “Hey developer, yes, I am willing to pay $3000 per month for an apartment in the South Bronx,” then that means more developers will speculate that there’s money to be made here.
That’s a problem, and I contribute to it.
With that said, we need other solutions to the real problems of displacement besides cursing out at new buildings. My appeal here is for a comprehensive look at the problem.
Many South Bronx Residents May Have Unique Protections.
About a third to half of all South Bronx residents live in some form of housing that’s protected from the market, whether that’s public housing, rent-stabilized units, or a housing voucher, according to 2021 city data.
That means many people in the South Bronx have insulation from market forces, which is great for fighting displacement.
It also means many of them can benefit from tenant protections and improvements to public housing, regardless of how many new people move in, and regardless of their incomes.
What Can I (or You) Do: Become Part of the Community
Anytime people move, there’s a real question of how to integrate within the existing community.
I’ve come to love spending time in the nearby community gardens and helping out long-time residents.
I’ve volunteered with a local environmental justice non-profit, South Bronx Unite. There, I’ve learned about the fights for an accessible waterfront, against the highways, against the polluted air, and for more housing built for current residents (not people like me.) I support all of that.
The new buildings are here. New residents like me are coming. How can we create a neighborhood where the new residents support those who’ve been here? How can we come together and fight together?
I suppose, as a “gentrifier,” that’s really what you can do. Listen, hear out the perspectives, and help them in their fights, which are now my fights.
I’m grateful almost every day for their kindness and acceptance.
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